Insect-guard.



Patented Apr. 16, I90l.

No. 67l,978.

(No Model.)

I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND RANDOLPH, OF JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA.

INSECT-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO.'671,978, dated April16, 1901.

Application filed September 22, 1899. serial No. 731,317. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that I, EDMUND RANDOLPH, a citizen of the United States,residing at J acksonville, in the county of Duval and State of Florida,have invented a new and useful In* sect-Guard, of which the following isa specification.

Thisinvention relates to insect-guards, and has for its objects toprovide an improved device of this character which is designed forapplication to the legs of furniture and is formed to permit of theconvenient attachment of the guard without removing the ordinarymetallic socket com monly-inserted in the lower ends of furniture-legsand to permit of the use of the original caster, while at the same timehaving means to space the body of the guard out of contact with thefloor or other support should it be desired to dispense with the caster.It is also designed to arrange the device for application to barrels,cabinets, and the like without changing either the guard or the deviceto which it may be applied and to form a convenient supportinglegtherefor.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings,and particularlypointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claim without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improvedinsect-guard applied to the leg of an article of furniture. Fig. 2 isacentral vertical sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail invertedperspective view of the guard detached.

Corresponding parts are designated by like characters of reference inall of the figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the lower end of any ordinaryfurniture-leg having the usual metallic socket 2 driven into the lowerend thereof and provided with the common outwardly-directed annularflange or bead 3, which projects at the lower end of the leg. Fittedwithin the metallic socket is the stem 4 of an ordinary caster. Theseparts are old and well known and have been shown merely to moreadequately illustrate the application of the improved guard.

In carrying out the present invention I provide a dished circular plate5, formed in a single casting and provided with a central circularopening 6. The central portion of the up per 0r convexed side of theplate is preferably flat, as indicated at 10 in Fig. 2 of the drawings,and in this flat face there is provided an annular recess or concavity11, which surrounds and merges into the central opening.

-Arranged around the central opening and formed in the flat portionthereof is a series of small openings 12 for the reception of suitablefastenings, as will be hereinafter explained. Pendent from the walls ofthe central opening is an integral sleeve 7, which is open at oppositeends and also projects beyond the plane of the marginal edge of theplate. In one side of this sleeve there is provided a screw-threadedperforation 8 for the reception of a set-screw 9.

In the application of the device the caster is removed from thefurniture-leg and the upper fiat portion 10 of the plate is placed flatagainst the lower end of the leg, so as to receive the flange 3 of themetallic socket 2 within the depression 6, so that the plate may restevenly in contact with the leg. Suitable fastenings, such as screws 13,are then passed through the respective perforations 12 and set into theleg, so as to firmly connect the guard to the leg. It will now beapparent that as the sleeve 7 projects below the marginal edge of theplate the lower end of said sleeve may rest upon the floor or othersupport, and thus space the body of the guard above the floor, and alsothe caster-stem may be inserted through the sleeve and into the socketin the end of the furniture-leg, whereby the caster may be used ordispensed with without changing any of the parts. The under or concavedface of the dished plate should be covered with chalk or like material,across which insects cannot crawl, so as to prevent the latter fromgaining access to the furniture-leg.

The set-screw 9 is designed to be set up against a small casterstem, soas to prevent looseness of a very small stem, and thus accommodate thedevice to stems of diiferent sizes.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the present devicemay be applied to the legs of furniture as now commonly provided withthe metallic sockets without removing the latter, and this is animportant advantage of the device, as it is next to impossible to removethe sockets. Thus the guard presents a complete article which may beconveniently applied to the legs of furniture without altering orchanging the latter and also permitting of the original caster beingused or dispensed with, as may be desired or necessary. It will also benoted that the lower end of the sleeve 7 always forms a support for thefurniture or other article, as it rests upon the lower flanged end ofthe easter-stem when the latter is employed and upon the floor when thecaster is dispensed with. Moreover,the device maybe conveniently appliedto the bottom of sugar and molasses barrels and cabinets of variouskinds, so as to form supporting-legs therefor and to prevent insectsfrom gaining access thereto.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, is

In a device of the class described, the combination with the leg 1, theinverted socket 2 having the projecting annular flange 3 at its bottomlocated at the lower'endof the leg and the caster provided with thetapering stem fitting in the socket 2, of the concavoconvex plate 5presenting a concave lower face and provided with a central aperture andhaving a depressed portion around the same to receive the said flange 3,said plate having its convex face arranged against the lower end of theleg and provided with perforations located between the socket 2 and theouter faces of the leg, fastening devices passing through theperforations and securing the plate to the leg, the dependingcentrally-arranged sleeve 7 provided with a threaded perforation andformed integral with the plate, the latter projecting outward beyond theside faces of the leg and extending downwardly below the latter, and aset-screw arranged in the threaded perforation of the sleeve at a pointbelow the plate and engagingthe stem of the caster, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own I-have hereto aifixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDMUND RANDOLPH.

Witnesses:

T. H. BLENNS, J. H. STEPHENS.

